1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to input apparatus, such as a keyboard, which can be used for computer, typewriter, and other similar applications. It is particularly useful where the user is a non-adult (child) or an adult with smaller than adult-sized hands. The input apparatus of the present invention provides fixed keys with a key spacing, smaller than the ANSI/HFS 100-1988 standard spacing, which advantageously permits children as young as 3 and 4 years old to use the input apparatus utilizing standard touch typing techniques. Thus, the present invention relates to input apparatus and a method for using them and more particularly to a keyboard input device that is scaled to the size of the hands of non-adults (children) and adults having small hands.
2. Description of Prior Art
Previous input apparatus such as computer keyboards and typewriters utilize a specific key spacing and character layout that have evolved into standards. Character refers to the character generated by the computer, typewriter or other machine, upon receiving a signal that a particular key has been depressed or otherwise engaged.
The original “qwerty” key arrangement is the current accepted standard for keyboard character locations. A standard english language “qwerty” keyboard has three rows comprising alphabetic characters and punctuation marks. The remaining rows include numbers and a space bar. A return key, shift keys, a tab key and other command type keys may be included at the ends of each row.
Generally input apparatus such as computer keyboards have the following “qwerty” arrangement with individual rows and columns of keys offset with respect to one another:
Holding down the shift key will add the following alphanumeric characters and punctuation marks:
Function keys, arrow keys, and/or a separate numeric keypad may be added on the top and or side of this layout. In addition, different computer manufacturers may include additional keys for controlling the operation of their particular computers.
In addition to the “qwerty” keyboard layout, other letter layouts such as the Dvorak keyboard have been developed. As will be recognized by the those of ordinary skill in the art from the following descriptions of the present invention, the present invention may comprise any character key layout, such as the qwerty character layout, the Dvorak character layout and the like. Moreover, the present invention may be utilized with character layouts other than the standard English language characters. Thus, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to a particular arrangement of characters corresponding to each key.
Keyboard standards as to key size and spacing were published Feb. 4, 1988 as American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/Human Factors Society (HFS) Standard No. 100-1988 (hereinafter the “ANSI/HFS 100-1988 standard”). The purpose of this standard is stated as: “This is a technical standard that specifies conditions that have been established as representing acceptable implementation of human factors engineering principles and practices in the design of visual display terminals (VDTs), associated furniture, and the office environment in which they are placed. Human factors engineering principles and practices are highly application dependent. This technical standard is written for those VDT applications described as text processing, data entry, and data inquiry.”
The key spacing described in the ANSI/HFS 100-1988 standard is that the center line distance between the horizontal keys shall be between 18 and 19 mm and the center line distance between the vertical keys shall be between 18 and 21 mm. Center line distance is described in the ANSI/HFS 100-1988 standard. Vertical center line distance is the distance between two parallel lines, the first line horizontally bisecting a first key and the second line horizontally bisecting a second adjacent key above or below the first key. Similarly, horizontal center line distance is the distance between two parallel lines, the first line vertically bisecting a first key and the second line vertically bisecting a second adjacent key to the left or right side of the first key. Horizontal and vertical center line distances may be further understood in view of the following discussions and with reference to the appended figures.
Historically in the art the various inventions of input apparatus are based upon the ANSI/HFS 100-1988 standard which is a result of the evolution of the various input apparatus. It is seen that these various input apparatus are attached to various machines such as typewriters and computers. Historically the input apparatus were designed for the use by adult humans. The training of an individual in the use of these various input apparatus began at the high school level. These high school users were typically 16 years old or older. At this age their hand lengths fall in the 5th percentile of an adult male's hands, meaning they are then suited to using the devices currently provided. The 5th percentile is a size that results from surveying a group of adult males and calculating the frequency in which various sizes occur. The 5th percentile is a number that one would expect 5% of adult males to resemble, on the shorter end of the scale. For example, the 5th percentile of adult males in one study had a hand length of 17.8 cm. The 95th percentile in this study had a hand length of 20.5 cm.
With the advent of the microcomputer there have been an increasing number of children and other than adult scale humans that use various input apparatus. It would be desirable to have an input apparatus which would accommodate their physical sizes, especially their hands in relation to the input apparatus. These users currently in some instances cannot perform routine keystrokes on their input apparatus due to the size and spacing of the keys. For example, a simple, often utilized, command such as control-alternate-delete cannot be easily performed by users with small scaled hands using the devices currently provided.